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The visual, shot in Paris by director Thomas Leloup, is the latest drop from Mr Eazi’s critically acclaimed 2023 album The Evil Genius. Among the most distinctive and unique album projects to emerge from Afrobeats, The Evil Genius has been praised by the likes of The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Complex, CNN, The FADER and Rolling Stone since its October release via Eazi’s own emPawa Africa.
One of six tracks from The Evil Genius produced by Nigerian super producer Kel-P (Burna Boy, Wizkid), “Òròkórò” boasts one of the album’s most lush arrangements. The track, which interpolates a lyric from Kidjo’s ‘90s-era classic “Wombo Lombo,” is sung largely in Yoruba, with Eazi and the five-time Grammy winner expressing deep and humble gratitude for their gifts in life. “I am saying: What God has done for me in secret can’t be quiet, you can see the love God has shown me,” Mr Eazi says.
The track was recorded between Kokrobite, Ghana and Ouidah, Benin, a city widely regarded as the birthplace and mecca of voodoo, as well as Angelique Kidjo’s hometown. “We literally finished it in a house on a lagoon in Ouidah,” Mr Eazi says. “It’s a very spiritual place.”
Ouidah’s spiritual history and traditions inform Leloup’s visual treatment, as did The Dahomey Amazons, women warriors who operated out of modern-day Benin between the 17th and 19th centuries, the director said.
“I wanted to make a true ‘spiritual musical,’” Leloup said. “Mr Eazi and Angelique Kidjo are two of the most significant artists in West Africa—two icons. So, in my concept, I try to explore this idea of spirituality and icons. Moreover, I put my personal visual universe, inspired by Wong Kar Wai, Kurosawa, or Wim Wenders, to make a mix with the universe of Eazi.
“The idea was to make a sort of ritual. Angelique was like a queen on a throne surrounded by women, and Mr. Eazi was like a preacher or messenger with dancers around him. The music video is a succession of tableaux, like a musical.”
“Òròkórò” is the fourth official video from The Evil Genius, following the previously released “Legalize,” “Chop Time, No Friend” and “Exit” (feat. Soweto Gospel Choir).
“Òròkórò” artwork by Patricorel | The Evil Genius artwork by Daniel Obasi
